MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — According to Pete Thamel, the West Virginia Mountaineers have named a starting quarterback for today´s Big 12 Conference home game against the Baylor Bears.

Despite Nicco Marchiol leading the Mountaineers to two consecutive conference road wins, senior quarterback Garrett Greene will get the start today. ¨Sources: Garrett Greene will return for West Virginia and start against Baylor today. He´s missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury and was only available in an emergency role last week. He´s praticed all week for WVU.¨

Sources: Garrett Greene will return for West Virginia and start against Baylor today. He’s missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury and was only available in an emergency role last week. He’s practiced all week for WVU. pic.twitter.com/fQc02qgJHN

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 16, 2024

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West Virginia head coach Neal Brown has remained quiet about who would start today, but he did say recently that he didn´t think that a player should lose his job due to an injury.

“I really can’t give you an answer until Garrett’s healthy, and he’s not healthy right now, okay? I think it is hard to lose jobs when you’re injured. I don’t think that’s a good practice,” Brown said. “But Nico played really well, and I’m happy for him. But I don’t have any long-term answer for you right now.”

Brown also hinted that he did not want to announce a starter for today´s game because it would make it more it more difficult for Baylor to prepare for.

“I think you want them to have to prepare for both. Not that we’re drastically different, but we’re different when one or the other plays. Just the fact that one of them is right-handed and of them is left-handed makes it different. As far as some strengths as to how you’re going to call the game…yeah. So without a doubt. Part of the reason is so that they don’t know. I’m not trying to hide that.”

Comparing Greene and Marchiol 

In 5 appearances, 2 of which were starts, Nicco Marchiol is 28/40 (70%) for 278 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. He´s also rushed 37 times for 100 yards. Greene on the other hand is 99/176 (56.3%) for 1,352 yards, 9 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Greene has also rushed 59 times for 398 yards.

My Take

I love Garrett Greene. I think he´s one of the best Mountaineers of all time, considering his loyalty and the guts he´s shown on the field. With that said, Nicco Marchiol should be the starting quarterback today. He´s a winner. He´s 3-0 as the starting quarterback at West Virginia and the rest of the team appears more confident with him on the field. He´s undefeated and he is the future of the program, and I´m not sure how you can take him out after two big conference road wins.¨

I love Garrett Greene. I think he’s one of the best Mountaineers of all time, considering his loyalty and the guts he’s shown on the field.

With that said, Nicco Marchiol should start tomorrow. He’s a winner and the rest of the team appears more confident with him on the field.…

— The Voice of Morgantown (@voicemorgantown) November 15, 2024

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